Let's think this through

Try this. Imagine you're retiring from Congress and you have nothing to do but vote the way your party wants you to. Yield to the pressure. That's cool. Sure. But remember, the retiring congressional critters have to go HOME, to LIVE. And if you vote in an unpopular way on an unpopular bill, you may get the treatment that Ben Nelson and OJ Simpson have gotten: walk into a restaurant and people scream at you until you leave. PLUS if you have to return to private practice, you have THAT to worry about. So how would that influence your vote? For or against?

Baird, a clinical psychologist first elected in 1998, has young twin sons, and told Pacific Northwest reporters in December the grind of lawmaking was wearing on him. You might think the fact that he's retiring would free him from political concerns about the healthcare bill. Still, even though he won't have to face voters again, Baird has substantive and political worries about what leadership is asking members to do.